Last Friday marked the beginning of Spring Sorority Formal Recruitment 2016. If you were anywhere near Campion yesterday, you surely heard the roaring chants being shouted by the five different sororities during Philanthropy Night. Anyone who came into contact with the chants were either shocked, confused, or annoyed. Yes, we are loud. But, it’s all for a reason. In hopes to clear up some of the confusion around sorority life, this post will act as a guide to the lingo.

“Formal” vs. “Informal” Recruitment

On Saint Joe’s campus, Formal Recruitment happens in the spring of each year.

What is one of the most stressful times in any college student’s life? I’m not talking finals week or graduation here people — I’m talking scheduling. This time is so important to every student’s well being, as it determines how your next semester will go. Will you get all of the classes you wanted but awful times, or maybe all of the teachers are great, but it didn’t follow your original plan? Either way, scheduling at any school is always a tad different, so lets first break down how it’s done here at SJU.

Well, my first semester as a Saint Joseph’s University student has come and gone just as fast as everyone said it would. As I relish in the post holiday laziness of my winter break, I have been able to take a moment and look back at my first semester. There have been many highs and lows that have accompanied these few short months, and all are what I believe every new college student will face.

Roommates & Friends

High: The great thing about college is that you are surrounded by people all day,

Some people make New Years Resolutions every year, but how many us actually stick with them? Here are a few tips to make sure that you reach you goals this year:

Make sure your resolutions are things that you really want.

Your resolutions should be something that you want to achieve, not what others think you should achieve. Sure we can all go to the gym more often, but do you really want to? If the answer is no, then you may not have enough motivation to work for it. If you’re not motivated, then why make it a goal in the first place?

Most people seem to either be avidly in favor of making New Year resolutions or avidly against making New Year resolutions. While everybody’s got their reasons, one way or another, I am 100% a New Year resolutions person.

At the start of 2015, after returning from a semester abroad, I lived off campus for the first time and truly started to feel like an upperclassmen. With that feeling came my resolution to find an internship closely related to my field: education. It started to hit me that I had only three semesters left and the handful of jobs I’d held had not actually given me any real experience in what I hoped to do for the rest of my life.

As a senior, I’ve seen relaxing winter breaks, ones where I’ve worked way too much and come back to second semester burnt out, and others where I just did not accomplish everything that I had hoped. THIS year I’m taking a stand and making sure I create the winter break of my choosing, starting with a handy-dandy to do list. Although the things you want and need to do may be different from mine, this list should give you some ideas of ways to be productive over the break!

In early October, Radio 1851 participated in national College Radio Day. The event is organized by the College Radio Foundation, and its purpose is to bring college radio stations together all around the world to celebrate the importance of college radio.

Saint Joseph’s campus radio station, Radio 1851, used the week of College Radio Day as a chance to run events to engage their DJs and the students on campus. One event of the week was a career networking lunch. Radio 1851 Career Networking Lunch provided students the opportunity to network with and learn from a panel of guests that are program directors and on-air personalities from local radio stations.

Congratulations to everyone that has already finished their finals and is ready to head home! Another semester of school in the books! If you’ve still got one or two left, keep pushing through, you’re almost there!

Many people may think that it’s too soon to start thinking about next semester but, I say it’s never too early! So once your finals are over take a good week or two to relax and enjoy the break. After that, slowly start to prepare yourself to return in the spring. To do that, there are a few simple things that you can do:

Buy your textbooks over break (if you haven’t already) so that you have them when classes start.

It’s that time of year again! Finals are here, and everyone knows the best part about studying is the breaks you take. Many people, myself included, tend to take the term “break” to the extreme, and then we find out that the 4-hour Netflix binge may have been somewhat counterproductive. Here are some ways to take a study break to re-energize while still staying on-task.

Make a Creative Study Schedule

Sometimes even the illusion of productivity can be enough to get the momentum going. Drawing out a study schedule will help you manage your time while also exercising some creativity.